Law & Apple: There and Back Again: Quests for Apple's Gold Fail

Apple's cash hoard is well publicized. It is the stuff of legends — so much so, you'd almost expect there to be a dragon sitting on top of it, guarding it from would-be burglars. We don't live in a world where you can feast, sing some songs, and then set off with a band of dwarves in search of long forgotten gold; we just clog up the courts with frivolous lawsuits instead. And sometimes, that dragon guarding Cupertino's gold, more commonly known as the legal department, is more than enough to put an end to the journey of those seeking what they falsely believe to be their share of the treasure. Let's take a look at the end of two such non-epic quests for Apple's gold.

iTunes Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissed

In August of 2011, Stacie Somers filed a lawsuit against Apple on behalf of herself and "all other similarly situation" claiming that Apple holds a monopoly over music downloading through its iTunes stores. Allegedly, the suit stated, Apple blocked competition and charged more for music by keeping users from playing some music purchased from iTunes on devices not made by Apple. Adding insult to injury, the suit claimed, Apple kept its prices for music the same even after competition entered the market.

So, in other words, Apple sold music that was designed to work on Apple devices, and did not change their pricing when other companies began offering music that worked on other devices. If that seems like a very weak argument to you, well, the courts would agree. Twice.

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case, effectively sending this lawsuit to its doom.

Grabbing the gold is not as easy as it looks. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Ms. Somers is no stranger to questing after Apple's gold in court. She filed a previous lawsuit in December of 2007 against Apple, claiming antitrust violations in the way iTunes managed DRM in music sales, and the motion for class-action status in this case was denied by the court (PDF) in July of 2009. Ms. Somers then filed an amended complaint in January of 2011, again alleging antitrust violations; this case was dismissed without prejudice (PDF) by the court in June of 2011.

Stop the madness! At some point, you have to just accept that the dragon is not going to be defeated when the same attack fails again and again, right? Or will we see Ms. Somers back in court with another lawsuit against Apple soon? The dragon will be ready.

iPhone Power Button Case Dismissed

Two iPhone users, Ross Missaghi and Charles Thompson, brought a lawsuit against Apple and AT&T last year, claiming that the power button on the iPhone was defective, that Apple knew about it, and that the faulty button represented a safety hazard. Mr. Missaghi and Mr. Thompson also claimed that AT&T and Apple formed a conspiracy to hide the defect, so that they could sell more phones in the period after the device warranty expired but before the service contracts ended.

Last week GigaOM reported that Los Angeles US District Judge Gary Feess dismissed the case (PDF), stating that Apple was under no obligation to disclose knowledge of a defect that occurs after the warranty period. Also, Judge Feess went on, the claim that a faulty power button was a safety hazard was wack.

Or, in his own words, "Certainly being stranded in a broken down car, where there may not even be cell service, is as speculative a safety concern as being stranded with a broken phone."

This case is separate from a similar case we discussed in May, one brought by Debra Hilton, also claiming that Apple purposefully built the iPhone 4 with faulty power buttons that would fail just after the warranty on the device expired, forcing her and "thousands of iPhone 4 users" to allegedly pay $149 to have the device fixed; this case is still pending. We just wanted to clarify that so you didn't get these courtroom conspiracy theories mixed up.

It's likely that Ms. Hilton's "wiggly button" case will see a similar fate as Mr. Missaghi's and Mr. Thompson's case. It takes more than a sketchy conspiracy theory to get past the dragon and grab the gold.

Everyone knows what you really need is a crafty Hobbit with a magic ring.